


(Insert Walt Whitman Poetry Here)

by whatthedubbs



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Charcoal Burner!Zuko, Gen, Zuko is a very reluctant fire lord, Zuko never hunted the avatar, he went to prison instead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:55:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21537841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthedubbs/pseuds/whatthedubbs
Summary: --THIS IS AN OUTLINE.  FEEL FREE TO WRITE THIS OUT IN FULL IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU--Instead of being sent to find the Avatar, Zuko gets thrown in prison.  When he escapes a year later after faking his own death he travels to the backwaters of the Earth Kingdom and settles down to make charcoal for the village blacksmith.But then the war is over, and the Fire Nation is uneasy under Iroh's White Lotus-influenced rule.  He needs an heir.He needs Zuko.A good thing he's not actually dead.Now, if only they could find him.
Comments: 76
Kudos: 675





	1. Chapters 1-5

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts), [Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Ozymandias, King of Kings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15482547) by [Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought/pseuds/Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought). 
  * Inspired by [Towards the Sun](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19252807) by [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/pseuds/MuffinLance). 



> !!!!! DEAR MOBILE USERS: DO NOT SCROLL DOWN! SCROLL UP AND TAP ON THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON. THIS IS UNREADABLE FOR YOU OTHERWISE. !!!!!
> 
> This was inspired by 'Ozymandias, King of Kings' and 'Towards the Sun' and is really a bit of a train wreck. But hopefully an INTERESTING train wreck. It's also an outline, so anyone who feels compelled should feel free to take this and make actual prose out of it. 
> 
> It's titled 'lost in the woods' on my computer, but whatever. I couldn't find my copy of 'Leaves of Grass' to give it a proper title.

  1. **Chapter 1: Zuko escapes from prison after two years**
    1. Reasons for banishment are the same 
      1. Differences are: 
        1. Completely blind on the side with the burn. Pupil almost gone, so most people only see the golden iris. Freaks people out.
        2. Hearing greatly impaired on burned side. External ear badly disfigured and eardrum cracked from the heat and healed wrong. Loud noises cause nausea and balance is off.
    2. Sent to the coal mines 
      1. Shackled 
        1. Manacles are welded shut so no locks to pick  

          1. Burn scars underneath welded manacles because who cares if the prisoners get burned a bit?
        2. Sent into mines before sunrise and kept there until sunset 
          1. Firebending completely suppressed
    3. Escapes through spirit intervention (Yay Agni!)  

      1. Was to be executed for minor infraction (tripping and falling into a guard or something like that) 
        1. Survived fireball to the chest during formal execution even without firebending and while totally emaciated
        2. Survival not detected by guards, who box up his supposedly dead body for shipping to the fringes of the earth kingdom. 
          1. Traitors are not allowed burial (they don’t get pyres) within the borders of the fire nation.
        3. Wakes up (thanks Agni) in transit; escapes coffin while burial detail is resting on the way to bury bodies. Runs away into the Earth Kingom. 
          1. This is likely to be Agni’s most direct action of the story. He strikes the burial detail down in the woods before they can even start digging the holes. He is not unkind, however. All of them were men with no relatives and few friends, their ghosts taken into his care. They will reincarnate as dragons.  

            1. Not plot-critical, but whatever. The point is that while Agni’s willing to make sacrifices to get his way, he’s not a dick about it if he can help it. Being a troll is completely different. Really.
    4. Prison/coal mine reports ex-prince was executed for trying to incite a rebellion against the fire lord.
  2. **Chapter 2: One year passes. (the day of the Comet) -** yes I realize the timing in the summary is wrong stop pointing at it.  

    1. Zuko (not bothering with Lee because he’s not really hiding), is living in the woods on the fringes of the earth kingdom and working as a charcoal burner  

      1. Because the crown declared Zuko dead three years ago, nobody assumes he’s that Zuko 
        1. His story: He was named for the crown prince by his colonial parents, but after the prince’s reported coup-attempt and death, his father drunkenly marked him as a traitor and had him sent to work in the mines. He escaped by pretending to be dead (good lies are mostly truth), and (obviously) decided not to go back afterwards.
      2. Being in prison broke him of all his royal habits, so it’s easy to play the part. He can barely firebend anyway; just enough to make his charcoal-burning some of the best in the region.   

        1. The broken cuffs are subtly chi-blocking him, but they can’t be removed (except by Toph).
      3. He lives alone out in the woods 
        1. Local smith Shirong (OC from _Embers)_ keeps the earth-army recruiters off his back in exchange for cheap high-grade charcoal that he uses to make weapons for them with  

          1. Built Zuko a hidden underground shelter to live in so he’s harder for them to find.
          2. Zuko uses it to hide in, but sleeps outside as often as possible, since being underground reminds him of the mines. He has a shack he built himself nearer to the stacks that he uses during the winter.
    2. Wakes up morning of the comet completely confused (didn’t know it was this year; lost track of time in the mines, and the earth kingdom keeps a different calendar that he can’t match to the one he knows).  

      1. Leaves home to go out and tend his charcoal burners (twenty minutes’ walk through the woods).
      2. Almost incinerates a charcoal burner before he calls it quits. 
        1. “WTF I suck at firebending how did that happen?”
    3. Ozai’s airships appear overhead. More WTF. Fireballs and bombs start to fall nearby and Zuko makes a break for his shelter through the burning forest.  

      1. “WTF did they know I was here? How did they find me? WHY CAN’T THEY JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE?”
      2. Fire ruins his charcoal stacks in seconds (whoops, guess someone’s not eating for the next week).
      3. Zuko’s hair catches on fire. He ignores it in favor of running. Can’t put your hair out if you’re crushed by a burning tree.
      4. Finally reaches his shelter; throws himself down stairs and dunks his head in the rain-barrel to put himself out. Hair is a total loss, but burns to his scalp avoided (yay) 
        1. Shelter is in a fairly large clearing away from the trees, so yay not suffocating on carbon monoxide or from the fire sucking in all the breathable air. 
        2. Thanks to Shirong for earthbending the earth around his home hard enough to deter plants (except for his veggie garden) from growing. 
          1. There’s nothing to burn nearby except for his laundry hanging out to dry and the aforementioned garden.
    4. Rain of FIRE continues on for about half an hour before it stops suddenly. 
      1. Zuko chances a peek outside and almost gets FUCKING IMPALED on a SWORD THAT FELL OUT OF THE FREAKING SKY. 
        1. Agni is somewhere having an aneurysm he’s laughing so hard. Fucking tricksters. Zuko is definitely not bitter.
      2. Earth around his house is seared almost to glass on the surface; if fire had continued much longer he would be cooked even underground.
      3. Thankfully airships are retreating, so they must think he’s dead.
      4. Time to dig out the charred skeleton he found out in the woods so they think they got him if they come to check. He can crash with Shirong for a while. Maybe he’ll like the sword?
  3. **Chapter 3: Iroh is Not Amused (2 weeks later)**
    1. Ozai is defeated and Azula is crazy and Iroh _doesn’t have his nephew to install as fire lord because apparently his brother had him executed a year ago and didn’t tell him?_  

      1. He left zuko in prison so he would be safe from court machinations and Ozai’s line of sight and somehow forgot that his nephew is a trouble magnet   

        1. Agni is pissing himself laughing, because he’s already recognized Zuko as the fire lord, and is getting petty revenge on Iroh for letting Agni’s chosen successor almost get killed. 
    2. Except the detail sent to bury his nephew’s body (be damn sure Iroh wasn’t just going to leave his body in the earth kingdom if he can do anything about it) apparently DISAPPEARED while they were supposedly burying him, and their cart was discovered _burned_ not _crushed_. So maybe Zuko didn’t die after all and just made an incredibly ill-advised (though successful) bid for freedom.
    3. But Iroh _can’t go out and find him_ because he has to be _Fire Lord._  

      1. And he can’t send the army to find him because the war is over and they’re retreating. 
        1. And Zuko would run away before they could catch him anyway
    4. And Aang can’t do it because he’s the _Avatar_ and has his own shit to do.
    5. And he hasn’t _spoken_ to Zuko’s maternal grandfather since the very awkward single diner the betrothal negotiations were conducted over; so he doesn’t think asking him would go very well.  

      1. Especially after he has to explain where Zuko has been for three years while he was supposedly dead.
    6. In theory the Earth King does owe him a favor for saving him and his bear from those highwaymen, but the only resource he has that would be any use is the Dai Li. Fuck no.
    7. Ursa could probably help, but she’s _also_ still hiding, (need to pardon her ASAP)
    8. Hakoda finally offers, and Sokka agrees to tag along because he’s getting stir-crazy just sitting around while his leg heals and the benders hash things out.  

      1. Also he’s one of the first to realize that as much as the fire nation grudgingly respects Iroh and was willing to end the war on his say-so, the rest of the world knows too much about what he did _before_ the white lotus to accept him on the throne, and so they _need_ this Zuko guy.  

        1. Who doesn’t sound all that bad, for someone blood-related to Ozai.
      2. Iroh gives them Zuko’s old crown and a letter to take with them as proof of their affiliation, and hopes they find his nephew soon.
    9. Iroh also has the fire sages he actually trusts start consulting with the spirits to see if they are willing to share anything about Prince Zuko’s fate. A long game, since fire spirits aren’t generally forthcoming when asked (they’ll share all kinds of things unasked though). Iroh’s told it could take years, but the balance will eventually demand an answer from the spirits.
  4. **Chapter 4: Zuko goes back to the woods. (2 months later)**
    1. Zuko waits until he’s sure they won’t come looking for him before going home.  

      1. Nobody came looking, so he figures his cover is still good. 
      2. Apparently the war is over, but it’s not like the new fire lord would bother to pardon a dead man; and Azula’s next in line anyway, so it’s not like it would be safe to go home in any case.  

        1. Earth Kingdom criers don’t bother to give any details on who actually ascended; but since uncle is no longer in the line, and the new lord was apparently crowned lawfully, it would have to be either Azula or some cousin so distant as to know nothing about the truth of his banishment/imprisonment.
    2. The ground around his house is still fused like glass from the heat; but at least there’s plenty of dead wood around to bring in; and the new growth next year will be good fuel.  

      1. He might have to sell the sky-sword to eat through the winter, but it’s not like he’s good with single blades anyway. Shirong will get him a good price for it.
      2. The ground is disturbed in a few places; shards of rock that look like geodes are scattered around the disturbances; their insides covered in crystals of vibrant color.   

        1. They’ll probably sell well if he can get them to the jeweler the next town over. 
    3. Entering the house, he finds the floor to be cracked, but the walls in good shape, and his stuff to be undisturbed.  

      1. A good thing, since his shack is probably ashes and melted nails 
    4. Zuko ends up having to spend the night in the shelter because it’s already past the autumn equinox, and the nights are too cold for sleeping outside now that his best camping gear is burned.  

      1. He’s not happy about it, but he won’t have the spare cash to replace it until probably next summer, so he’ll deal. Maybe Shirong can put in a window for him. He probably doesn’t have to hide from the earth army anymore now that the war is over.
      2. In the middle of the night (Zuko isn’t sleeping, but it’s _fine_ ), there’s a loud cracking noise that has him out of bed like a shot only to fall flat on his face because the crack in the floor has split open and there’s something _moving in the dark WTF_  

        1. Zuko stubs his toe on a lump of rock that _definitely wasn’t there when he went to sleep_ while he’s trying to find a fucking candle so he can see what’s going on _  
_
        2. _**THERE IS A FUCKING BABY DRAGON IN HIS HOUSE THIS IS NOT A DRILL WTF AGNI STOP FUCKING WITH ME?!?**_
          1. Agni is having the fucking time of his not-life
      3. Dragon decides Zuko is friend-shaped and takes advantage of his on-the-floor-ness to perch on him and make cooing noises in his ear
      4. Agni actually bothers to make an appearance to explain himself except not because he’s a trickster spirit and loves fucking with his chosen people.  

        1. Because he does actually love the shit out of them and would beat the everliving fuck out of anything that tried to do them wrong. And Koh can go _castrate himself with a rusty spoon_ for causing the last hundred years of damage to them because it _wasn’t his place_ and his tricks weren’t even _funny_.
      5. Basically: The war is over so it’s safe to bring my other kids back now. Isn’t it funny how your dad’s attempt to burn the world down woke them up? If he’d succeeded they’d have torn him limb from limb! Suck on _that_ Sozin!  

        1. BTW this is Druk. Look after him. He’s a very good dragon; yes he is! (tickling said dragon under the chin) 
        2. Well, my work here is done! Try not to die; I need some good entertainment after all the work I put in keeping you alive. Toodles.
      6. Agni sods off. Zuko is caught between panic and vigorous blasphemy. Druk sneezes and nearly sets Zuko’s bed on fire.   

        1. WTF
  5. **Chapter 5: Sokka is still looking (four months later)**
    1. Earth kingdom winters are a joke.
    2. Hakoda had to head back a month ago to do chief stuff, but Iroh gave Sokka a decent ship and crew so he can continue the search on his own  

      1. It’s annoying they can’t just tell the Earth kingdom authorities what they’re looking for, but he understands why not  

        1. Dai Li would probably love to get their hands on the future Fire Lord, and there’s no guarantee they’ll ever get the real Prince Zuko back from them. 
    3. Runs into Zuko’s grandfather in a bar outside Pohai, they team up; Sokka learns loads about swords; annoys Shidan (another OC from _Embers._ Seriously, go read it. Take a few days. I'll wait) with constant moaning about space sword.  

      1. Shidan is V. weird and talks about humans like he isn’t one
      2. Says Zuko is alive because he would know if he was not (not ominous or creepy at all, nope).
      3. Firebends, but weirdly and with lots of colors all the time. 
      4. Just read Embers. He’s that Shidan. Seriously. See you in a few days. It's almost three times as long as _Order of the Phoenix._
    4. Capt. Jee is pretty cool about not behaving like a crazy ash-maker and teaching Sokka how to manage the ship, but obviously wants to be home.   

      1. Everyone is frustrated by the lack of leads. Jee's armor creaks in a quietly exasperated manner.
    5. At least they know where Zuko _isn’t_ if he’s alive. Too bad he can’t justify taking time to find space sword. 
      1. i.e. He can’t be in the area Ozai’s air fleet managed to immolate, because there’s no way anyone on the ground would have survived.




	2. Chapters 6-10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People in the comments have asked about a version that is more readable on mobile phones. I can't think of a way to do that and still keep thee organization of ideas coherent; but I will point out that downloading a work (button at the top of the page next to the subscribe button) will allow you to read a version of it formatted for US Letter paper, which IS readable on mobile (you'll have to read it landscape).

  1. **Chapter 6: Zuko gets on with his life (Six months after the comet)**
    1. Zuko is back into the swing of his work again, although now he has to deal with Druk, who is always fucking hungry and trying to get into trouble   

      1. Rides around Zuko’s neck like a scarf. v. Adorable.
    2. Sold space sword a month ago so he’ll have money for veggie seeds come spring and to pay Shirong for building him an actual above-ground hut to live in. 
    3. Druk is sort of helping Zuko get his bending back by dragging his chi around to keep himself warm; but Zuko is still mostly useless at creating actual fire
    4. This chapter is kinda just filler tbh. Could be combined with next chapter since they happen at the same time. It's just things that _should_ happen between more interesting things because the time skips are large. Incidentally, while typing this I somehow started my computer playing the first movement of Jean Sibelius' third symphony, which is completely irrelevant, but a cool piece of music regardless. Just let me put the fourth wall back up and we'll continue.
  2. **Chapter 7: Things happen for People Who Are Not Zuko (also six months after comet)**
    1. Sightings of loads of small dragons on the near side of the earth kingdom  

      1. Where tf did they come from anyway?
      2. Earth king wants them relocated to the fire nation because reasons 
        1. Earthbenders can’t deal with wiggly fire snakes easily
        2. THEY’RE EATING EVERYTHING
        3. AAAAAAAAAAARGH
    2. Sokka and Shidan continue their hijinks. Much Crew Shenanigans
    3. Iroh has Zuko declared crown prince in-abstentia until he either finds a suitable heir to adopt from a distant branch of the family or Zuko returns. 
      1. Ceremony is more reminiscent of a funeral
      2. Also secret because Iroh doesn’t want to broadcast that he’s missing and not dead until he finds him. Only Sokka, Hakoda, Shidan, and the White Lotus are actively searching for him. 
        1. Fire sages claim that Agni has not yet chosen a successor, and Iroh makes use of that good ol’ Fire Nation propaganda machine to spread that around so people stop asking about it so much.
    4. This chapter is the second half of the last one. Sibelius three continues to be delightfully pastoral in character.
  3. **SOKKA FINDS SPACE SWORD! (eight months after comet)**
    1. It turns up on Kyoshi island in a roving trader’s stall while he’s visiting with Suki  

      1. IDK if they’re dating I’m Zukka trash, but there's no time for relationships while so much politics-bending needs to be done.  

        1. because Sokka needs someone to take him down a peg.
      2. Apparently it’s changed hands a fair few times but because Earth Kingdom there’s a paper trail leading back to Shirong (but not Zuko) 
        1. Which means Sokka has an excuse to take a break and go thank somebody for finding it. 
        2. And Shidan apparently wants to investigate something weird in the woods that are left that Iroh wrote him about so it’s cool.
    2. BREAK - Put something here. Perhaps Toph poking some rocks. Or poking some people _with_ some rocks.
    3. One month later they arrive at Shirong’s smithy, where Sokka gets the (hilarious) account of how his dropped sword almost skewered the local charcoal-burner while Shidan disappears into the woods for a few hours and comes back with FUCKING BABY DRAGONS DRAPED ALL OVER HIM WTF  

      1. Dragons really like chilling (ha) in Shirong’s forge and just generally making a nuisance of themselves. Shidan is a total pushover and lets them get away with anything 
        1. Also baby-talks at them. But weird baby-talk because he’s a dragon too. 
          1. Everyone else is mildly disturbed.
    4. They miss Zuko by only a few days 
      1. He went with the Wen’s younger children to escort them to school in Yu Dao
      2. They leave a note saying thanks and apologizing for almost impaling him 
      3. Shirong probably knows something’s up but it’s not clear how much he actually knows. 
        1. Not like, anything about Zuko’s backstory. But he’s aware that Zuko’s paranoid about people tracking him down for some reason, and they’re friends so he’s not just gonna sell him out.
  4. **Chapter 9: One Year Later (After the comet, that is)**
    1. Druk is now almost a yard and half long, although only as big around as a clenched fist (and Zuko has fine-boned hands, so his fists aren’t all that big  

      1. He’s taken to sleeping in the chimneys of the charcoal stacks whenever people are around
      2. He’s still a secret (to most people. He’s too outgoing to avoid people totally). 
      3. He’s trying to teach Zuko the dragon dance, but the silly human doesn’t have enough fire to hear him yet  

        1. Zuko’s still managing with the bare minimum of fire bending  

          1. His welded-shut prison cuffs are actually to blame, as they disrupt the chi pathway between his core and his hands and feet and head (collar, ankle, and wrist shackles)
          2. He’ll need to meet Toph to get them removed, but obviously hasn’t run into her yet.
    2. Zuko is still getting on with being left the fuck alone thank you 
      1. Except if you’re Shirong 
        1. Especially if you bring rice wine 
          1. He nearly slips up while they’re drinking and tells Shirong he’s actually the dead prince. 
      2. Apparently the war is actually over for real, or so the Wen’s kids say when they get back from school for a holiday. 
        1. At least that means no more swords falling out of the sky. Hopefully.
      3. He supposes he could go home, but honestly the fire nation can go fuck itself right now. He’s still angry. And has no idea if the laws about dragon-slaying have been repealed so it’s not like he could take Druk.  

        1. Uncle is apparently fire lord, but it’s not like he did anything to help him in the first place. Zuko definitely isn’t bitter about that at all. Nope.  

          1. Dad’s dead though. So at least there’s that. Apparently he’s responsible for the sword that nearly fucking skewered him. Figures.
      4. The turtleducks he found last week by the creek are cute. Druk is not allowd to eat them. Druk is salty about this.
    3. Sokka and Shidan take a break to confer with Iroh about their search.  

      1. Shidan still has a million baby dragons following him around and burning the drapes.  

        1. Shidan continues to do nothing to dissuade them
      2. Iroh is also smitten with little dragons, but is increasingly sure that he’ll have to adopt from one of the distant family branches soon if they can’t find Zuko. 
      3. Sokka is increasingly in favor of offering a reward for information without mentioning Zuko’s title  

        1. Which has some merit, although Iroh is a bit too paranoid to do it himself. 
        2. Although putting up posters didn’t do much when they were trying to find Appa, so there is that.
      4. Also, has anybody issued an official pardon for Ursa yet? Come on people; get with the program.
      5. Also also, has anyone mentioned this to Aang. He’s the reincarnation of Zuko’s great-grandpa. He can probably get something out of Roku. The summer solstice has passed, but that doesn’t mean Roku won’t speak to Aang if he asks. Seriously Iroh, are those meetings with the minister of education frying your brain?  

        1. LOL Aang can’t keep this kind of secret well; but we’ll ask him to have a peek in the spirit world next time he swings by. Who knows, maybe he’s already run into him while he was wandering around doing stuff (NOT THAT WAY) with Katara.
  5. Chapter 10: The Next Solstice (Winter) 
    1. For some reason I didn't write anything here. Obviously because it is the chapter of crew shenanigans?
    2. The next chapter is really complicated to outline anyway.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so much shorter. IDK what's up with chapter 10; I wrote past that point months ago and honestly don't remember what I wanted to happen on the solstice. Whelp.
> 
> The next installment (chapters 11-15) is MUCH LONGER because it discusses various directions the plot could go. In a way that is hopefully VAGUELY coherent. I'm pursuing one option, but I've laid out how a few of the others might work. 
> 
> There's also a lot of politics.


	3. Chapters 11-15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to this mess. This is the point at which I really couldn't decide where I was going and started outlining different options.

  1. **Chapter 11: Zuko gets found by someone: (several plot options discussed)**  

    1. Option 1: By Sokka and Shidan 
      1. Likely not near where Zuko has made his home, since it’s in a place they don’t think they have to look. 
        1. He might be taking the Wen’s kids to school or something and get recognized in whatever city they’re going to school in 
          1. (These might be the Wens from Embers, or it could just be a convenient earth-kingdom-y name. Up to you).
        2. He might have been arrested for something Druk did (set somebody’s orchard on fire, eat an ostrich horse, etc).
        3. Druk might get big enough to give him away (which would take much longer, so what happened in all those intervening years, and why is Sokka, who is supposed to take over as chief, not at the south pole)? 
          1. I don't have answers to those questions.
          2. Probably less likely, although the opportunity for Zukka meet-cute appeals to me.
    2. Option 2: By Aang and Katara (and Toph?) 
      1. Maybe Aang is working with Iroh and found him by asking Roku/some other spirit?  

        1. Least interesting option probably, but there could be some funny dialogue. Don’t see Agni letting it happen though.
      2. Or maybe Aang finds him completely by accident. 
        1. Perhaps they are traveling with Toph and mention the crazy glass-like clearing in the woods and she insists they let her stick her feet in it
        2. It’s a clearing in the woods and the war is over and they’re in the earth kingdom anyway. Why not stop and get some free dinner from some grateful citizens (not that I think Aang is that _mercenary_ , but he does like hanging out with people who like what he’s done; and knows what generally happens when he does it).  

          1. ZUKO IS NOT AMUSED ‘THAT WAS MY VEGETABLE GARDEN YOU FROSTED CRETIN’ or something to that effect.
        3. While Aang is like OMG you’re the fire prince can I have your autograph and also kidnap you back to the fire nation so you can ascend the throne? What do you mean no? WTF DON’T LET YOUR DRAGON EAT APPA  

          1. If Aang were to pursue kidnapping, I imagine he’d find that Druk snuck up on them while they were talking and slit Katara’s waterskin and the straps of Appa’s saddle so they can’t free him or take him away. Aang would probably try to trap him with earthbending, but then they’re at an impasse, (because how do they get him back with a broken saddle while he’s wearing stone cuffs).  

            1. IDK, don’t think Aang would try it. He’s older now (all of 13!) and knows better. Hopefully
      3. OR MAYBE Aang and Katara (and maybe Toph) see (or don’t) the smoke from his charcoal kilns and think someone is trying to set the forest on fire (it’s not like either of them would have seen many of them before)  

        1. Zuko pitches a fit about his ruined stacks (Aang blasted them apart with air and nearly ACTUALLY started a forest fire before he managed to douse it with water and earth)
        2. Halfway through a really good shouting-at-idiot-vandals episode Aang/Katara interrupts by exclaiming that he’s prince Zuko. Zuko immediately throws back his stock answer of having been named in honor of the dead crowned prince (everybody knows he’s dead, why do you think my dad kicked me out?) and Toph CORROBORATES IT, because she’s smart enough to feel EXACTLY how FUCKING PANICKED getting almost-recognized has Zuko.
        3. Later that night she catches him sneaking out of the house with all his essentials on his back and a baby dragon around his neck and they have a bro-chat about being nobles and having duty and being ready to go back and stuff  

          1. Basically: 'Hey, your uncle really loves the crap out of you and wants you back so he can retire as fire lord in a few years. Do you mind if I tell him you’re alive, but not ready to come back yet, or should I forget I ever saw you? NGL, I like your uncle and he deserves to get some of his family back, but I get why you might not be able to go back after what he didn’t do.'
          2. 'Also, do you think Agni and I can be bros? He sounds awesome.'
        4. Zuko disappears and Toph doesn’t say anything to Aang and Katara (although Katara is suspicious that Toph didn’t feel him leaving)
        5. Disagreement over whether it was _actually_ prince Zuko or a guy who gets mistaken for him a lot
        6. Zuko goes out into the world for a while and has a pretty hard but also okay time, although he misses Shirong and sends him letters whenever he can (in his stupidly-good calligraphy).
        7. He returns six months later (when he reason’s it’s probably safe) to find his house just like he left it (apparently the Avatar told people to leave it alone?). 
        8. There’s a letter from his uncle waiting for him though, apparently Toph delivered it on her way back without being questioned somehow? Oh wait, she sent it with another letter to Shirong because Toph has the power of PLOT HOLES.  

          1. Basically says that Zuko is officially pardoned (but will remain officially dead until he chooses to return), and has instructions for who to contact if/when he chooses to come back. And also an explanation of Iroh’s choices leading up to Zuko’s supposed death. 
            1. I don't find this a compelling option, because it's a bit too _easy_.
    3. Option 3: Toph finds him while just wandering around kicking ass and taking names on the earth rumble circuit. 
      1. My favorite option because it seems the one that Agni would get the most of a kick out of. Like; ‘Hey, I’m the Avatar’s earth bending teacher and know your uncle and all the details about the impending succession crisis you’re involved in; but I won’t share any of that with you because it’s supposed to be a secret; and I don’t actually know who you are because it’s not like I can see you.’ 
        1. I can’t think of a way to swing that though, because Toph would immediately know he’s lying the second he starts explaining his fake backstory.
      2. Anyway, she rolls up to whatever village Zuko’s living near, and picks him out of the crowd at the Rumble to demonstrate her badass metal bending skills.  

        1. She can sense the steel/iron cuffs on him and recognizes them after having to bend thousands of the damn things off fire nation political prisoners. Figures he’d probably like them to be gone.
      3. Zuko only came to the rumble because Shirong dragged him there (and promised to get him drunk afterwards because they’re bros). He’s been around long enough that all the locals know him and know he’s fire nation and also a massive dork. There’s a fair amount of good-natured heckling when he’s pushed onto the arena floor. 
        1. Obligatory ‘who are you?’ ‘the greatest earthbender alive’ *breaks manacles off Zuko with a flick of the wrist* ‘Look on my works and despair that I am cooler than you.’ (cheeky reference to a Zukka fic _Ozymandias, King of Kings)_
        2. Cue Zuko freaking out and crying because the air against his revealed skin feels like it’s on _fire_ , and Toph realizing that this guy isn’t some escaped earthbender, he’s actually fire nation.
      4. Toph tracks him down after the Rumble and asks him if he’s really _that_ Zuko. Zuko gives his standard lie, of course; and Toph picks up on it immediately because of course she does.  

        1. She doesn’t confront him about it because if he stayed hidden this long and hasn’t been moving around then he doesn’t want to be found. 
          1. And she knows this because not all lies feel the same, and she can tell that this is one Zuko's beeen telling for _a long time_.
      5. Instead she asks him if he knows the way to Yu Dao (I’m under the impression that the part of the world Ozai burned is where the Eastern Earth Kingdom base/fortress is marked on maps of the world from AtLA). She claims that she’s supposed to be meeting friends there, but needs someone who can actually see to help her get there. 
        1. Sokka is supposed to be there within the next month, he’ll be able to figure out a way to get this guy to think about coming back.
        2. BTW Toph got into town with a caravan, but they’re not going to Yu Dao, which gives her an excuse.
      6. Zuko dithers about whether or not to go, since he’ll have to put out all the kilns and loose weeks of work to do it, but he’ll feel terrible about not helping the crazy blind girl and it’s not like there’s anyone else in the village who could be helpful if they get attacked by highwaymen (he didn’t actually get to watch Toph destroy all comers at the Rumble because he was too busy freaking out outside about having the manacles removed).  

        1. Toph restrains herself from pointing out this fact since his assumption is working in her favor. 
        2. Agni allows this manipulation to stand because Toph amuses him greatly; and because he _really wants Iroh to give the invocations of his name a rest already he heard him the first time._
      7. Zuko ends up agreeing to help out once he’s damped the kilns. 
        1. Toph helps out because she’s cool like that. And good charcoal is close enough to rock that she can bend it out of the unburned wood for him.
      8. Druk reveal, because Toph’s met some of the dragons Shirong brought back and knows what they feel like when they touch the ground and calls Zuko out on having one in his house.
    4. Summary: I prefer that last one, although it’s still a very rough outline and needs fleshing out. Toph is very much on Zuko’s side and sort of gets why he doesn’t want to go back (i.e. he found something way better than being a noble to do with his life). Sokka really wants to meet the guy (Iroh talked him up a lot), Shidan is his grandfather and all kinds of dragon-intense about Zuko being family. Aang is pretty Aang about the whole deal (let’s be best friends after knowing each other 2.4 seconds). Katara is, as usual, a semi-antagonist because this crazy quest for the probably dead prince has been distracting Sokka for a whole year that he should have been at home helping dad for.
    5. OKAY ITS TIME FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER NOW WE'RE GOING WITH OPTION THREE BECAUSE TOPH BEI FONG, THAT'S WHY.
  2. **Chapter 12: Yu Dao (Two Weeks Later)**
    1. Zuko and Toph arrive safely in Yu Dao 
      1. Zuko would have bruises all over his arms from Toph’s friendly punching (since he normally bruises like a peach), but since he spends so much time working outdoors it’s not as obvious anymore. 
        1. Minor detail, but yay worldbuilding
      2. Toph makes Zuko drag her to a messenger hawk office to send a note to Sokka. 
        1. ‘How are you going to send a note if you don’t know how to read?’ ‘What do you think you’re here for, Sparky?’
        2. Note reads something like: ‘Hey Snozzles, ran into a pretty cool guy who got me to Yu Dao a few weeks early. See you and grandpa when you get here.’ 
          1. Needs some phrase that would clue Sokka or Shidan in on who she thinks she’s found without Zuko being able to figure it out from her words.
    2. BREAK
    3. Sokka gets Toph’s note. 
      1. It’s obvious there’s some sort of hidden meaning in her words, but he can’t tell if it’s her making fun of him or something else.
      2. Shows the note to Shidan, who does a spit-take (or similar) as soon as he looks at the damn thing because it’s in his grandson’s handwriting. 
        1. Which he recognizes because Zuko wrote to him (along with his mother) right up until he got himself imprisoned; since they weren’t allowed to meet in person. Also because he only knows of one firebender who ever bothered to learn dao.
      3. Sokka (dripping wet): So it’s a joke right? I knew it!
      4. Shidan: LOL nope. Your friend found my grandson completely by accident. 
        1. In his head he’s cackling because Agni would appreciate the irony of the blind girl finding the target of their search in the same place they looked months ago.
      5. Cue Sokka freak-out; then planning out how they’re going to convince Zuko to come with them.
    4. Sokka’s Plan: 
      1. Sokka goes with his entourage (Suki) to meet Toph and Zuko, using the cover story Iroh built up for them to explain his presence and the reason he’s got an ex-fire navy ship at his disposal. 
        1. Story: Sokka is a companion of the Avatar and acts as a negotiator between the Fire Nation, its colonies, and the Earth Kingdom. Shidan is his sword-mentor, since Sokka doesn’t have bending.
      2. Meet Toph and Zuko at the inn they’re staying at. Invite Zuko to stay with them at the house set aside for them as diplomats, as thanks for escorting his friend safely to Yu Dao.
      3. Bring Zuko back to ambassadorial residence, where Shidan is waiting to meet them, Zuko’s crown and official documents detailing his exoneration, restoring his place in the line of succession, and naming Iroh regent in his absence. Also letter from Iroh explaining his actions and begging for forgiveness (something the reigning fire lord doesn’t do).  

        1. By law he’s _technically_ been fire lord since Azula’s defeat, since Iroh gave up his place in the succession. However, since he was presumed dead, the Fire Sages saw fit to crown Iroh for lack of a closer relative. If Zuko turned out to not be dead, Iroh’s reign retroactively becomes a regency, and the date of Zuko’s ascension is backdated to when it would have officially begun.
      4. Hope he doesn’t run/fight them.
    5. Shidan immediately sends a coded hawk message to alert Iroh that Zuko may have been found and that they are investigating.
  3. **Chapter 13: Diner in Yu Dao**
    1. First two steps of Sokka’s plan work as well as can be expected. Their party arrives and settles into the ambassadorial villa; Sokka and Suki go out to meet up with Toph and Zuko, and convince them both to stay with them until they have to leave.  

      1. Toph convinces Zuko to go, since Zuko’s on edge being around so many fire nation people; even though most of the world has no clue what he looks like (the last official royal portrait circulated was commissioned when he was seven and completed a few weeks before Ursa disappeared).
      2. Druk helps by being very hard to keep hidden from the other inn patrons, as well as eating enough to put a big dent in Zuko’s coin purse.
      3. Final straw is Toph letting slip that Zuko was the one that found Space Sword (Zuko noticed Sokka carrying it immediately, but refrained from saying anything).  

        1. Toph knows about the whole thing because the story was something Zuko told to pass the time while they were on the road.
    2. Step three is (predictably) an explosion of fail.  

      1. As soon as they step through the door Druk goes nuts and runs away down a hallway in the opposite direction of the room where Sokka’s big reveal with all the official documents is prepared. 
      2. Zuko takes off after his crazy dragon and runs smack into his grandfather. Instant recognition on Zuko’s part (Shidan doesn’t have a much more recent picture than the rest of the Fire Nation) causes him to snatch Druk right out of Shidan’s hands and make a break for the nearest window in a panic.
      3. Of course, before he can get there everyone else comes piling in after him and he ends up on the bottom of the pile that forms as a result.  

        1. Sokka, struggling to hold on to slippery-fish Zuko as he tries to worm his way out and escape: 'Wait a minute dude! You’re not in trouble! _Somebody get the spirits-damned paperwork for him to look at!'_
        2. Zuko: Get the fuck off me! Why can’t people just leave me the fuck alone! _  
_
          1. Internally: Why the fuck can’t I manage to do something decent without it coming back to bite me in the ass? _  
_
        3. Shidan: Grandson! Your uncle has been looking for you for months! I hope you’re prepared to write an apology to your grandmother for worrying her so much! Do get up off the floor and greet me properly!
        4. Suki: Boys if you don’t stop in the next ten seconds I’m nerve-striking both of you!
        5. Toph: Please, I’m an impressional young girl. At least wait until you’re behind closed doors to put your hands all over each other.
        6. Druk: Get these humans off of me please!
      4. Teruko enters with the crown and documents and hands them to Shidan, carefully avoiding struggling teenagers in the process.
      5. Suki follows through with her promise and nerve-strikes Sokka and Zuko into submission.  

        1. Suki: Look, Zuko. As an agent of the Earth King, I promise you that you will not be extradited or imprisoned without a proper trial. Sokka and your grandfather aren’t here to do you any harm. They just want you to read a few documents your uncle sent along for you. 
          1. Also, I totally understand your desire to hide under a rock forever. Your sister is possibly the most terrifying being I’ve ever encountered.
    3. Zuko gets hoisted into a chair and Shidan hands over documents one by one for him to read.  

      1. ‘Oh cool. So it’s officially not a crime to care about our soldiers anymore. About time, Uncle.’
      2. ‘Yay, way to fuck up my cover story Uncle. At least now I get to be _Prince_ charcoal burner.’
      3. ‘Oh _**Fuck**_.’ 
        1. WTF is this I’m not the spirits-damned _Fire Lord!_ No! Uncle just wants me to be Fire Lord so he can spend more time with his damned leaf-juice! Is that my fucking crown you’re hiding behind your back!? Get that damn thing away from me!
        2. If the fire sages want me on the damn throne they can _come and get me themselves!_
          1. _Wait._ They’re all master benders aren’t they. _Balls._
      4. What the fuck is this? Uncle spent the past eight years working for a secret organization bent on stopping the fire lord when he could have challenged him to an Agni Kai and _smashed_ him at any time? _Agni WHY?  
_
        1. In this universe Iroh was much more active in the white lotus after Lu Ten’s death, and so spent much less time with Zuko in the three years before he was imprisoned. As a result, he is almost COMPLETELY CLUELESS when it comes to Zuko. _  
_
          1. His bullshit excuse is that he didn’t want to deprive Zuko of his one remaining parent. Which has… _so many things wrong with it._
        2. Agni is also much aggrieved by Iroh’s waffling/unwillingness to be direct. His fascination with subtle plots and strategy comes back to bite him in the ass, because really the best thing to do was glaringly obvious. Now he’s got to deal with a missing Crown Prince, a suddenly non-bending but no less vicious brother, the absolute _snake pit_ that Ozai cultivated at court, thousands of apoplectic citizens who’s relatives/spouses/children died at the Siege of the North, and the utterly disastrous fallout of the Fire Nation finding out that the Avatar can _take away their bending.  
_
          1. And that’s just the short list. Like, seriously. Iroh is on the throne because there’s no one else as far as the rest of the fire nation is concerned. If that were not the case he would probably be dead already. Not because people are particularly angry about the war ending, even; but because he’s _clearly_ not been putting the wellbeing of the fire nation first for years, and there’s no reason to believe he’ll start now.
    4. Shidan is also VERY ANNOYED at Iroh right now, but is waiting to smack him around for being a cryptic idiot until he’s not the fire lord anymore.  

      1. Sokka immediately picks up on this and points out that if Zuko was willing to come back with them he could give his uncle a piece of his mind in person…  

        1. Zuko sees right through this because he was not born yesterday and Sokka is an _amateur_.
    5. Zuko turns to Suki and asks if he can request asylum from the earth king until he sorts out what to do about this because he’ll be _damned_ if he does it anywhere _near_ his scheming uncle.  

      1. Internally he’s screaming because he _hates_ the idea of being fire lord. He spent so much time and energy internalizing the idea that he was gonna live his life as a peasant (because at least peasants’ work doesn’t involve politics and is also strangely satisfying); and he finds the idea of returning to what he remembers of the court to be abhorrent.
      2. He’s gonna have to work stuff out with the Earth King anyway, (even if it's just to beg asylum), might as well get a head start. 
        1. Zuko has zero knowledge of what Kuei’s like or how his court functions, but it can’t be anything nearly as bad as the Caldera.
    6. Sokka chokes on nothing, Toph starts cackling, Shidan looks pensive, and Suki, bewildered, shrugs because sure why not? 
      1. Honestly probably a better option all around. While Iroh is not particularly well thought-of in the Fire Nation, everyone else is pretty happy to have him on the throne. All anybody knows about Zuko is what Iroh tells people (behind closed doors because they’re still pretending he’s dead officially). Suki has enough political awareness to realize that sequestering him in the Earth King’s palace until he figures out what to do is probably a good idea, since:  

        1. He can barely bend, and so isn’t a big threat to the earth king
        2. Him coming to respect the earth king on his own rather than through Iroh’s shadowy White Lotus will look a hell of a lot better to his own people
        3. He’ll owe the earth king a debt, and earth kings, even flighty ones, are pretty good about collecting if they need to.
        4. They won’t have to knock him out to get him on a ship home.
      2. Sokka will agree with these reasons once he thinks of them. He’s just too flabbergasted right now.
  4. **Chapter 14: Sokka Reports to Iroh/Zuko Arrives in Ba Sing Se**
    1. Sokka writes a letter with many exclamation points to Iroh about how impossible and stubborn and prickly his nephew is.  

      1. ‘Oh BTW we found him. Well, Toph found him. Which in hindsight was honestly always going to happen because Toph.’
      2. ‘BTW BTW, he’s very angry with you and refuses to be fire lord until he has a good brood about it. In Ba Sing Se because he requested asylum.’
      3. ‘Which he’s probably entitled to, since he _apparently_ pays his taxes.’
      4. ‘He also formally demands that the Fire Nation reimburse him for six months of lost wages because Ozai burned the forest he was working in.’
      5. ‘Also that you keep your fire sages to yourself.’
      6. And your white lotus, whatever the hell that is. (Zuko's words, not Sokka's)
    2. Iroh is torn between being ecstatic that Zuko has been found, and sheepish/disappointed that his nephew doesn’t want to come home. Also a little worried about what might happen to him alone in Ba Sing Se (even if he is a guest of the Earth King. 
      1. Prays to Agni for guidance 
        1. Agni’s response is something along the lines of: you wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d bothered to think like the Dragon you claim to be for five consecutive seconds any time in the past eight years.
        2. He doesn’t say that, per se; but Iroh isn’t stupid. He’ll understand if he actually wants to.
      2. Does indeed keep fire sages to himself. Makes some sort of suitably avuncular remark about how the white lotus will bloom in its own time.  

        1. Agni will _singe his beard_ he _swears_.
    3. Zuko arrives in Ba Sing Se 
      1. Kuei has him put up in the suite that used to be for when the fire lord visited.   

        1. With Long Feng dead by Azula’s hand, the Dai Li are in recovery mode. Especially since Aang came around after the war and pointed out that the rise in malicious spirit activity in the city was in fact driven by the practice of mind-bending, and _explicitly forbid them from doing it ever again._  

          1. Which, according to _Embers_ , means that doing so would bring the wrath of the spirits down on the perpetrator like a herd of Komodo-rhinos. _  
_
      2. Zuko is relieved to find out that the King has nothing to do with the white lotus (and is in fact, prohibited by law from joining on penalty of forced abdication). 
        1. Perhaps there is time for a Zuko-Kuei field trip? Not a big one, but enough to make everyone else panic? A vehicle for the Earth King and Fire Lord to become bros/gain the respect of their respective domains?  

          1. IDK how this works for Zuko, since his alive-ness has not been announced yet. Shidan had to threaten Iroh’s favorite teapot on behalf of his grandson to keep Iroh from ‘accidentally’ ruining any chance of Zuko being able to return to obscurity should he decide not to take the throne.  

            1. WTF Iroh why can’t you learn not to play with people like that. Your nephew deserves better. You’ve already put enough strain on your relationship.
      3. Zuko pursuades Kuei to halt negotiation on the fate of the colonies until the White Lotus is out of the picture as a political actor.  

        1. The earth king has a _private library_. A library that has scrolls detailing the actual duty of the Order of the White Lotus as the trainers and support network of the young Avatar; _not_ an extra-governmental world power manipulating things behind the scenes for it’s own definition of Balance. _Uncle_.
        2. Anyway, Zuko and Kuei agree that while the colonies are in the earth kingdom, most of them have been around for 90+ years, and are pretty firmly Fire Nation territory now; and that the surge in (the fire nation’s) population brought about by the availability of more resources and space to live means that the home islands are no longer capable of supporting the entire population were they to be evacuated/deported.  

          1. In reality, most fire nation colonies enjoy a much higher standard of living than is average for the earth kingdom; and not just because they were on the winning side of the war. Fire Nation technology and ingenuity _really did make their lives better_ , even if the way it was introduced was wrong. 
          2. So, instead of just giving the colonies back/expelling the fire nation colonists, our royal bros discuss technology exchanges and free movement of citizens, and _dual_ citizens, and ways to break the back of the ‘fire is the superior element’ mentality.
      4. Zuko is starting to come around to the idea of being fire lord if it means he can make some of this stuff happen. It’s been years since he was required to study political history from before the war (and it was more of a curiosity, since any dealings the future fire lord could be expected to have with the earth kingdom had been assumed to be accepting surrenders), but even _he_ can tell that the draft treaties that Uncle and the Avatar have come up with are _garbage_. Great for the earth kingdom (he’s not even touched the water tribe stuff yet), but almost _guaranteed_ to have the fire nation rioting in the streets because it reads _way_ too much like surrender reparations.   

        1. And from what Zuko understands, (and Kuei, and the Earth Kingdom generals), the fire nation wasn’t _actually_ defeated. The avatar intervened to stop a malicious attack by one nation on another, and Ozai’s legal successor was challenged to a _legal_ contest for the throne, which she forfeited by cheating. Iroh, as next in line decided to end the war; and ceded Ba Sing Se back to the earth king so that he would have one central authority (rather than a whole bunch of ticked-off generals) to negotiate with. 
        2. It’s completely clear to everyone that if he had wanted to, Iroh could easily have lead the Fire Nation to ultimate victory even without the comet, and that he chose not to. No one felt safe demanding reparations from the fire nation, because _they could still start the war back up and win_.   

          1. However, if Iroh’s going to _act_ as if the fire nation were defeated, then no one’s gonna call him on it. 
            1. Except his own people. Probably violently.
    4. MEANWHILE, AT THE NORTH POLE 
      1. Arnook and Hakoda are in a meeting about establishing closer ties between their two tribes (and taking measures to ensure that their people don’t turn to piracy now that there isn’t a common enemy to fight), when Hakoda gets a message from Sokka informing him that the fire lord’s heir has been found and is in Ba Sing Se negotiating with the Earth King and to Please Tui and La go and be the adult in the room while the banished-at-thirteen prince and purely-a-figurehead-until-two-years-ago King hammer stuff out.
      2. And, well, Arnook isn’t about to be left out of that, thank you very much. Pakku’s informed him that Iroh is grand master of the white lotus, but he trusts them about as far as he can throw a polar-bear-goose (not far), since, like Zuko and others, he immediately realizes that Iroh could have ended the war eight years ago and instead decided to indulge his penchant for the long game, leading indirectly to the death of Arnook’s daughter.  

        1. Arnook isn’t aware that it’s Zuko that Sokka is referring to. He assumes that Iroh was forced to cave and find a suitable heir to adopt from a distant branch of the family tree. 
        2. Hakoda doesn’t correct him because mentioning that Zuko is Ozai’s son won’t go over well. Because _everyone_ knows how _his_ kids turned out.
  5. **Chaptet 15: SOME TIME LATER, AFTER SOKKA AND CO REPORT BACK TO IROH AND THEN BOOK IT FOR CHAMELEON BAY (I think that’s the right place? Finding a nicely detailed map in a resolution I can read has been difficult).**
    1. Sokka and co turn up in Ba Sing Se to find that his dad has arrived and Arnook has invited himself to Zuko and Kuei’s head-of-state party. ****  

      1. Bumi was not invited because there are no members of the white lotus allowed at Zuko-And-Kuei’s-Head-of-State-Party (ZAKHOSP). (No I won’t use that acronym it’s abhorrent).
      2. Aang was not invited for similar reasons (and because he’s all of _fourteen)_.  

        1. Zuko is now 18/19 depending on how long it takes Sokka to get there.
    2. Apparently Kuei and Zuko are bros now? Something about chasing Bosco all over the lower ring in an ostrich-horse carriage?  

      1. Aaaand they’re just chilling in the gardens (Kuei has _turtle-ducks_ in his gardens; he and Zuko were _destined_ to be BFFLs) casually undermining/discarding almost every plan/agreement/concession Iroh made in the past two years, and breezing through issues that had everybody at each other’s throats.
    3. And apparently agreeing that the fire nation _didn’t lose the war?_  

      1. Although some of these mutual aid agreements are _very interesting.  
_
        1. Like _, can the water tribes get in on these_ interesting.
      2. Hakoda and Arnook are trying to insert themselves into the conversation but keep getting steamrolled   

        1. LOL it’s actually way easier for the earth kingdom and fire nation to stop fighting because they’re absolute monarchies where the king/fire lord says stop and everything stops (in theory) (but then anyone who continues fighting is a criminal and there are _laws_ for that). And because they have proper chains of command and standing armies and so word gets passed around pretty quick. 
        2. While the Water Tribes are run by councils and chiefs, and have lots of independent operators, and so it’s much harder for a cease-fire to hold because no one person really has the ability to agree to/declare one.  

          1. Arnook’s a hereditary chief, but the chief is not an absolute ruler by any stretch.
          2. And Hakoda is the leader of the alliance of the dozen or so southern water tribes, and that alliance probably won’t exist anymore once people are reasonably sure the war’s not just going to start up again.
        3. So Arnook and Hakoda are more ambassadors than actual actors in these negotiations, which is putting both of them on edge because it seems like it’ll be very easy for their peoples to be left out in the cold (ha!)
    4. ‘Oh good! Sokka’s here. You’re not White Lotus, right? Cool, come here and talk fishing rights with us.’  

      1. LOL Hakoda and Arnook are like ‘We’re right here?’
      2. Toph chooses this moment to pop out of the ground (just her head and shoulders) and makes some comment about old people being terrible negotiators, and not to sweat it because the kids’ve got this covered.
    5. Shidan can be heard cackling off around the corner while the Chiefs splutter over their dismissal. 
      1. The alliance of Toph and Shidan is unholy and causes many things that should not have been poked to be _vigorously prodded._ Sokka is wondering why Kuei seems so unconcerned about all the property damage they are probably causing.  

        1. ‘Lady Bei Fong will put it back afterwards, it’s fine.’
      2. Maybe you think you are safe. But I have news for you. _No one is safe._
    6. MEANWHILE Iroh is moping around the Imperial Palace because Zuko didn’t want to come home. _  
_



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE EXCUSE ANY PLOT HOLES THERE IS A REASON THIS IS AN OUTLINE. ALSO, FEEL FREE TO SPECULATE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, BECAUSE THIS IS AS FAR AS I HAVE WRITTEN.

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse the formatting. I know it looks terrible. I don't have the patience to fix it; since I'm already transferring it bullet-by-bullet from my original document.


End file.
